Soft Places (1978) Joanna Williams

Country: USA| Director: Marga Aulbach

Starring: Annette Haven, Carrie Cohen, China Leigh, Chris Petersen, Cris Cassidy, Darlene Gouch, Judy Falcon, Lois Fillmore, Mary Kincaid, Terri Middleton, Brice Taylor, John Rolling, John Seeman, Paul Thomas, Rick Sterns, Robert Bane

Returning from the funeral of her very wealthy and prominent husband, the widow, accompanied by her family attorney, discusses the unusual will her husband has left. In order to inherit the full benefits of this "spoken will" it is required that the widow experience every known sexual activity. Through these outrageous activities, possibly her frigidity will fade, and a truly loving woman will be unleashed. The experiment works! In one sexually explicit act after another, the widow wins the inheritance and her complete sexual freedom!

Misleadingly labeled with a sappy title that makes it sound like run of the mill couples porno pap, this unfairly overlooked Annette Haven turns out to be one wild card of a movie. In its own unpredictable way, it proves as shocking as EXPENSIVE TASTES, the notorious rape 'n' revenge flick by the same team of producer William Dancer and director Joanna Williams (posing here as "Wray Hamilton"), both naturally of LITTLE GIRLS BLUE fame.

The always stunning Haven stars as wealthy widow Monique, whose less than adoring husband has set her a number of seriously twisted sexual tasks to fulfill if she is to touch her inheritance, foreshadowing Ginger Lynn's PLEASURE HUNT misadventures. Believing his wife both frigid and a gold-digger, the sick bastard seems bent on revenge, even if only exacted from beyond the grave under supervision by attorney Paul Thomas. Prim 'n' proper Monique finds herself forced to commit all sorts of semi-degrading acts for profit as well as unexpected fun. These include public masturbation in the back of a cab, Sapphic explorations at the massage parlor and dual hand jobs in a sordid singles bar.

The most surprising thing is the generous amount of sleaze surrounding dainty Annette's comparatively tasteful exploits. Monique's mild mauling of an Oriental masseuse (China Leigh, the younger of Sam Weston's CHINA SISTERS) is preceded by a passionate tryst between a bearded bloke and a very pretty transsexual with no stinting on the mutual oral gratification. Even more astounding is the elaborate singles bar sequence filled with (way too) real looking extras sucking and fornicating their desperate little hearts out which generates some sort of appalled fascination akin to rubbernecking on the freeway. Watch for Dancer regular Chrissy Petersen providing some more conventional carnality with John Seeman during this extended tableau that's almost Goya-esquire in its surreal perversity. Ending sees a liberated Annette in bed with P.T., a frequent screen partner of hers, finding new and exciting ways to deal with her husband's ashes ! Monumentally strange plot twists aside, this stands as one of the more artistically shot porno features of the '70s. Rich vibrant colors and striking compositions abound, courtesy of veteran camera man Ron Garcia, hiding behind the "Rahn Vickery" moniker as was his custom on hardcore endeavors. As a result, glamor puss Annette looks her absolute best in every single frame, to say nothing of her picture perfect rack, as eye-popping a pendulous pair as has ever swung its way across the blue screen.